The J Curve with Olga Maslikhova

August 31: For this episode of the JCurve I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Parker Treacy, founder and CEO at Cobli, Brazilian telematics and fleet management platform that has recently raised $35M Series B from the likes of Softbank, Fifth Wall, Qualcomm Ventures and Valor Capital. Prior to that, Parker founded First Help Financial now one of the largest independent auto finance companies in the United States.In today's episode we will learn: 1. What are Parker's key learnings of starting First Help Financial fresh out of college?2. How to build a high performing sales organization for SaaS companies?3. Why founders' competitive advantage is their pace of learning?4. What would be Parker's approach towards fundraising and running operations if he were to raise Series B during recession?5. What are the next billion dollar company building opportunities nobody's pursuing yet? 

August 22:  For this episode of The JCurve I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Guilherme Azevedo, founder and Head of Health at Brazilian healthcare company Alice that has recently raised $127M Series C from the likes of SoftBank, Kaszek and Globo Ventures. Prior to that Guilherme co-founded another health company Dr. Consulta and Brazil's largest tilapia fish farm GeneSeas.In today's episode we will learn: 1. What are the critical elements of building a founding team?2. What are the key challenges of disrupting a health care system in Brazil?3. What's the hardest aspect of Guilherme's work today given the adverse market environment?4. Is Brazilian tech ecosystem sustainable at this point?

Monday, August 8: For this episode of The JCurve I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Antoine Colaço, a managing partner at Valor Capital, the leading US / Brazil cross-border multi-stage VC firm, whose portfolio includes over 15 tech unicorns including the likes of Gympass, CargoX, Olist and Loft. Prior to that, Antoine spend 9 years in Google, launching operations for various divisions of the company in India, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.In today's episode we will learn:1. What are the key advantages of being a cross-border VC and why so few funds in LatAm are doing that?2. What are the major headwinds that still inhibit the growth of tech & VC ecosystem in Brazil?3. Why delivering venture rate of growth and building sustainable tech businesses are not mutually exclusive?4. What are the similarities and differences between the current recession and the the prior market crises?5. What are the key pillars of a productive  VC / founder partnership?

Friday, July 22: For this episode of the J Curve I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Guilherme Assis, founder at Sao-Paulo based Iporanga Ventures whose portfolio includes the likes of Buser, Loggi, Olist and investment platform Gorila in which Guilherme is also a founder and CEO. Most recently Gorila raised over $20M in Series B from Ribbit, Apis and Monashees. In today's episode we will learn:1) What were Guilherme's key learnings of building and scaling Gorilla across different market cycles?2) What are some of the unique challenges of company building in Latin America?3) What is Guilherme's advice to founders that have to raise in tough market environment?4) What are the key Brazilian industries that have huge potential for IPO-ready companies in less than a decade?5) Why crypto will change the way people interact?

Tuesday, July 5: For this episode of the J Curve I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Ana Zucato,  founder and CEO ar Noh, a Brazilian fintech operating in shared finance space that has recently raised $3M seed funding from the Ikes of Kindred Ventures, Positive Ventures, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and The Twenty Minute VC by Harry Stebbings. Prior to founding Noh, Ana worked at Intuit, Truora and GuiaBolso.In today's episode we will learn:1) What are the unique challenges of launching consumer-focused fintech products in Brazil?2) What are three things founders should NOT be doing while fundraising?3) What are the ultimate advantages of building a diverse organization from day zero?4) What are the creative go-to-market strategies Noh used to launch its product in Brazil?5) How did the Brazilian fintech market evolve over the last decade?

Tuesday, May 31: For this episode of The J Curve I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Jorge Vargas Neto and Vanessa Muglia, co-founders at BHub a Brazilian startup that offers full back-office SaaS for small and medium businesses in Latin America, that has recently raised $20m in Series A from the lines of Monashees, Valor Capital and QED Investors.  Prior to BHub, Jorge co-founded Zen Finance that was sold to Rappi and Biva that was acquired by PágSeguro. Vanessa was a co-founder at Civi, an app that makes cities safer by providing security-related information and notifications in real time and prior to that she spent a decade as a lawyer. In today's episode we will learn:1) What are most challenging aspects of managing growth?2) How did the fundraising environment change with rising interest rates and inflation? 3) What's Jorge and Vanessa's fundraising advice for tech founders?4) What are the out-of-the-box go-to-market hacks that BHub used to launch?5) What are the key learnings of building and selling  Zen Finance and Biva that Jorge brought to BHub?6) How big of a role luck plays in startup success?

Monday, May 16: For this episode of The J Curve I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Guilherme Bonifácio and Diego Libanio, founders at Merce do Bairro, a Brazilian marketplace that manages the entire purchasing and delivery process for micro groceries that has recently raised $10 million series A from the likes of  Flourish Ventures (The Omidyar Group‘s investment fund),  Global Founders Capital (GFC), Domo, MAYA, and Alexia Ventures Prior to Merce do Bairro, Diego and Guilherme co-founded alcohol beverage delivery platform Zé Delivery and one of the first Brazilian tech unicorns iFood respectively.In today's episode we will learn:1) What are the core pillars of long lasting partnership?2) What are the nuances of building services for micro groceries in Brazil?3) What are the biggest mistakes founders make when fundraising? Hint - it has everything to do with control rights 4) What should founders look for in the potential financial partner?5) As angel investors, what traits do Guilherme and Diego look for in the founders?6) What's the next billion dollar company nobody's building in Brazil?

Monday, May 2: For this episode of The J Curve I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Guilherme Freire, co-founder and CEO at Dolado, a Brazilian startup that digitizes small retailers in peripheral areas and small cities that has recently raised $10 million Series A from the likes of Valor Capital Group, Flourish (The Omidyar Group‘s investment fund), Global Founders Capital (GFC), IDB Lab, and Endeavor.Prior to Dolado, Guilherme co-founded LIVO Eyewear and Grow Mobility. In today's episode we will learn:1) What being passionate triathlete taught Guilherme about business?2) What are the main risks of building products for a customer with low level of tech awareness and adoption?3) How to build and raise capital for tech business if you start with a problem that's generally perceived as super niche?4) How does Guilherme think about financial discipline and pros and cons of raising too much capital too soon? What's Guilherme's advice to the founders on control rights and board composition?5) What traits does Guilherme look for in the founders he considers backing as an angel?

Wednesday, April 13: For the final episode of The J Curve's LatAm Power Women in Tech Series I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Laura Constantini, co-founder and managing partner at Astella, Sao Paulo-based early stage venture capital firm with over $100M assets under management and over 50 companies invested including the likes of Omie and RD Station. Laura is the industry O.G., the pioneer among women investing in venture capital in Latin America. Laura is a co-host at "Astella around the world" show, where she interviews global VCs, LPs and thought leaders. Prior to starting Astella, Laura built an impressive career in Banking and M&A in Banco Santander and Cicerone Capital. In today's episode we will learn:1) What prompted Laura to give up on successful career in finance and make a move into venture capital way ahead of the pack in 2008?2) What were Laura's key learnings from the fundraising for Fund I and Fund II when interest rates were high and market knowledge about venture capital as an asset class low?3) How does the decision making process look like in Astella?4) What is the right time in a startup cycle to form a Board and what's the actual value of the Board for an early stage startup?5) What is Laura's advice to founders raising in a highly liquid market?

Friday, March 25: For this episode I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Mariana Donangelo, partner at KaszeK, Latin America's leading venture capital firm founded by MercadoLibre co-founder Hernan Kazah and its former CFO Nicolas Szekasy.  KaszeK has recently raised $1B across two funds and since 2011 has backed over 90 companies including tech unicorns Nubank, Creditas, QuintoAndar, Gympass, Loggi and Kavak. Prior to KaszeK Mariana led growth at Invoice2Go and worked in Accel where she was heavily involved with Accel's initiatives in Brazil and Latin America.  And finally, Mariana is a successful angel investor who backed some of the region's leading tech unicorns including Gympass, Nuvemshop and QuintoAndar super early.In today's episode we will learn:1) What are the essential traits of great founders in general and in LatAm specifically?2) What are the key pillars of LatAm market evolution Mariana witnessed over the last decade?3) How does the investment decision making process look like at KaszeK?4) What does it take to be successful in the business of venture capital?5) What is Mariana's single piece of advice for first time founders?